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Harry Browne
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Why Government Doesn't Work Hardcover – December 1, 1995

by Harry Browne (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 63 ratings
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Harry Browne says 'ENOUGH!' In this book he shows why government fails so miserably at everything it touches. And he demonstrates how much better off we'd be by making government much smaller. Most important, he provides a realistic blueprint for getting from where we are now to a small government and a freer, more prosperous society.
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  1. Print length
    245 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Liamworks
  4. Publication date
    December 1, 1995
  5. ISBN-10
    0965603601
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0965603607
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liamworks (December 1, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 245 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0965603601
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0965603607
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 63 ratings

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Harry Browne

Harry Browne

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
63 global ratings

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Customers find the book great, excellent, and well-written. They also say it's well-thought-out and eloquently makes its case.

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8 customers mention "Readability"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book great and excellent.

"Great book! Harry Browne is able to sum up most of the major problems with our society, and get to the root cause of those problems - government...." Read more

"Quite possibly the best book I have ever read. It's a book that every high schooler in the country should read...." Read more

"Beautiful ! Makes his case eloquently. A joy to read." Read more

"This is an excellent book by Libertarian Harry Browne. He does a thorough job in presenting Libertarian ideals in an easy to read manner...." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book very well-written, thought-out, and eloquent.

"I loved this book. Its light weight but well thought out...." Read more

"Beautiful ! Makes his case eloquently. A joy to read." Read more

"Very Well Written!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Matt
5.0 out of 5 stars Every American should read this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2002
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Great book! Harry Browne is able to sum up most of the major problems with our society, and get to the root cause of those problems - government. It would be great if more Americans would open their minds to Libertarian ideas. Unfortunately, Americans have become so brainwashed and apathetic that they don't even think about what role the government should play in our lives. Rather, they just complain and feel that there is nothing to be done. I'd like to buy a copy of this book for every American.
17 people found this helpful
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Eric P. Medlock
5.0 out of 5 stars The book that made a Libertarian out of me
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2003
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I loved this book. Its light weight but well thought out. It convinced me to become a Libertarian and vote for Harry in the last presidential election. This book will give you a different point of view on what government is. Maybe you'll agree and maybe you won't but at least you'll have spent some time thinking about the function of government, and no matter what you decide that will be time well spent.
13 people found this helpful
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James K. Joyce, Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book; needs a better title.
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2002
First of all, the editorial review is wrong on a major point. Mr. Browne DOES NOT want the private sector to take over the job of national defense. No sensible libertarian does, because this is one of the few things that only government can do effectively. Granted, most of the hardware of the military is built by private companies contracted for this purpose (such as Chrysler building tanks), but the control of the armed services rests with the Federal government, as it should.
My only real problem with this book is, as I suggested, the title. I think it could be misleading and reinforce the association some have equating libertarianism with anarchy. I consider myself a libertarian (though I am not registered with that party or any other at this time) and I am certainly not an anarchist. I think a better title might have been "Why government is too big" or something along those lines.
The thing is, government works quite well when kept to it's proper function, which is to provide the military, the police, and courts of law. As Mr. Browne points out, government is force, and the only proper use of force is defense/retaliation against those who initiate its use. Only a government (bound by objective laws) can do this effectively. By the same token, if those things which are the province of government were given over to the private sector, as some anarchists have proposed, the results would be disastrous.
15 people found this helpful
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David M. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars quite possibly the best book I have ever read
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2014
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Quite possibly the best book I have ever read. It's a book that every high schooler in the country should read. It's a book that every person in the country should read. Still holds up today.
3 people found this helpful
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Tudo
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Harry Browne, simple for anyone to understand
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2006
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One of Harry Brownes best works! Amazing how ignorant so many people have become on the issues of freedom and what made this place unique in history. Harry is able to articulate not only why government doesn't work but also the simple changes that we can all make, to re-create the type of America we used to be and become once again the shining symbol of freedom .
6 people found this helpful
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Wade Friedrichs
5.0 out of 5 stars best explanation of government
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2010
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This book presents the best explanation of why government does not work to solve problems. However well-intentioned the program is, it has never worked. Browne goes into detail, program by program, on what was intended, what happened, and what went wrong. It totally blows up the myth that government can solve social and economic problems.
6 people found this helpful
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Sailor Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful! Makes his case eloquently
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2018
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Beautiful ! Makes his case eloquently. A joy to read.
One person found this helpful
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M. Livshutz
4.0 out of 5 stars I like his down-to-earth approach to Libertarian ideas
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2001
OK, I admit it. I lean towards libertarian ideas politically. However, I believe I am a reasonable person, not a fanatic of any sort. I realize that things often aren't that simple, that it's impossible to just snap fingers and end up in a libertarian paradise. That said, I still agree with Harry Browne much of the time. What's more important, I think his book is a good read.
Too many political books are too hard to understand. They go into convoluted political and legal theories and use unclear examples. This book avoids such errors, partially because it's written to an audience of "typical" voters.
I particularly like the first chapter, especially the section about "Dictator Syndrome". He points out quite correctly that many some people are driven by the desire to fix all the world's problems in their lifetime. They think that if only they could be a true Dictator they would fix the world. Thus, they advocate more government intervention because government is the tool that dictators use to fix the world to their liking. Al Gore is but one of such people. I found this chapter the nicest explanation of the complicated Public Choice theory I ever saw. If you don't know what this theory is, you won't even notice it. If you do know, you won't notice it either until you finish reading and say "Aha!"
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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S Benton-Tarry
5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Americans
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2019
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I purchased this book back in 2010 and have read it many times since then. It is of compact size and an easy read.

Written back in 1995, Harry Browne puts forward how simple it would be for America to really become The Land of the Free again. His ideas are straightforward and obvious to anyone who manages their own household budget sensibly. On a personal level, you may not agree with everything he has written, but the solutions are evergreen and apply just as much today as they did when the book was published.

If you perceive this book to be for Americans only - then think again. The same overgrowth of government has happened in the UK and the solutions Harry puts forward could be just as easily used here as in the US to solve many of the problems we have today.
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木村 貴
5.0 out of 5 stars 本質的に非効率
Reviewed in Japan on April 8, 2017
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交通事故死を自動車メーカーのせいにする論者があるが、欠陥自動車のせいで死ぬ人はめったにいない。ほとんどは見通しが悪く、歩車分離すらない政府の欠陥道路によるものだ。政府がなければ誰が国民を守るのかと問う論者があるが、政府はむしろ無用の戦争に国民を駆り立て、その生命を危険にさらす。

民間企業ならできることが政府にはできない。なぜか。著者が指摘するように、政府はその本質からして非効率だからだ。以下、表題作のエッセイより抜粋。（数字は位置ナンバー）

政府は役に立たない。道路の効率を維持できず、いつも渋滞ばかりで、幹線道路の死亡事故発生率も下げられない。死亡率は恥ずべき高さで、もし道路が私有だったら、責任者は投獄ものだろう。（1006）

政府は役に立たない。国民を外国の侵略から守ると誓いながら、若者を徴兵して送り出し、他国の敵と戦わせ、戦死させた。米国の海岸に対する脅威はほとんどないのに、多数の米国民が戦争で死傷し、巨額の資金を費やした。（1016）

政府は市場のルールを決め、審判のように振る舞うと思われているかもしれない。しかし実際にはルールは気まぐれ、あいまいで、しょっちゅう変わる。しかも「審判」はいつも、政治力の強いチームをひいきするように見える。（1037）

政府が役立たずだとわかったら、改善の方法はただ一つ。政府の規模を小さくすることだ。法律を廃止し、政策をやめ、政府支出と税を減らし、政府をできるだけ小さくするのだ。（1042）

政府は小さければ小さいほどいい。政府をもっと効率よく、人間らしく、利用者にやさしくしようとしても、改善を遅らせるだけだ。強制は効率的でないし、人間らしくもなければ、もちろんやさしくもない。（1056）
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